Easy Peasy
by sir wilfrederick
Summary: [Two years stranded on a space whale had made him feel... not exactly wiser, but more in tune with himself. Sure, he had examined his feelings towards Lance—hard not to, when there were only so many topics he and his mom could rehash—but it was... refreshing, to come to this conclusion now.] Keith had no problem telling Lance he loved him. Lance, on the other hand, did.


It hit him after the training bot went down from a shot from Lance.

But it wasn't really anything profound, either. It was just... like he had been stumbling around in a dimly lit room and someone had finally turned on the light, illuminating the room with a brightness that was pleasant and easy on the eyes. And, if that light happened to be Lance's victorious smirk—well, no one really had to know.

"Oh," Keith said, the word barely leaving his mouth before it dissipated between the clamor of his fellow teammates. He couldn't take his eyes off Lance, who was doing a victory shimmy, wiggling his hips with his arms close to his body, face upturned, smiling.

"You alright, Keith?" someone—probably Shiro—asked. The others paused, turning their gaze on him.

"I love you," Keith said, towards Lance. Simple, because it was. Why keep it a secret if they would just feel it when they combined into Voltron later? When they could die any day now?

Lance stopped. Stared. Mouth agape. " _What_?"

"I love you," Keith repeated a little louder, in case he hadn't heard the first time. Maybe he should be embarrassed, what, with how Lance's face was quickly flushing, but he couldn't find it in himself. Two years stranded on a space whale had made him feel... not exactly wiser, but more in tune with himself. There hadn't been much else to do on that stupid thing anyway. Sure, he had examined his feelings towards Lance—hard not to, when there were only so many topics he and his mom could rehash—but it was... refreshing, to come to this conclusion now. The confusing mishmash of feelings he had had before hadn't given him an idea one way or the other, but this... This felt right.

Activity continued around them. They were in the large training room at the Garrison that Pidge's dad and Coran had developed for them after they had stopped the Galra invasion. They were just waiting for repairs and intel on Hagar before they could leave Earth again, so the paladins were taking the time to train with the MFE pilots. The paladins and MFE pilots stood around them, watching, waiting for Lance's response.

"What the _hell_ ," Lance finally growled, stalking towards him. "You can't just—You can't just _say_ that!"

"Why not?" Keith's brow furrowed. Lance seemed—angry. Was he mad that Keith had feelings for him? That he was gay? Something cold settled in his chest, but he held his chin up. He had hoped, sure, that Lance would reciprocate his feelings, but he knew it was more than likely that he didn't.

" _Because_." Lance jabbed a finger into his chest plate. "You can't just spring that on someone! Especially in public like this!"

Keith still didn't quite understand. "Why not?" he retorted hotly. His chest still felt cold, but fire raced through his body. Just like old times, back on the castle, bickering over stupid things. "You would just find out when we formed Voltron later. I'm not going to hide my feelings to put the team in jeopardy."

"There's a time and a place, Keith!" Lance shouted back through his teeth, seething in rage. His eyes darted around their audience. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he leaned back, out of Keith's space, and turned and stomped away.

"What the quiznack," said Pidge. Shiro quietly reprimanded her.

Griffin was the one to speak up next. He sounded furious. Keith ignored him, choosing instead to follow after Lance. Griffin was a good fighter, sure, but his attitude left a lot to be desired.

Lance hadn't gotten very far. He was in the hangar, ready to board Red when Keith caught up to him.

"Lance," Keith called, voice echoing around them.

Lance froze, one foot on the ramp. "Yes?"

"Can we talk?"

He didn't move for a moment; Keith didn't, either. If Lance wanted him to leave him alone, he'd walk right back out. He didn't want that, but he'd do it for Lance.

"Sure."

The ramp closed behind them with a solid sound. Red moved her head up so they wouldn't be disturbed. They settled on the cot; it was the only place both would be comfortable since the lion lacked seating. Lance motioned for Keith to speak, but Keith took a moment to study Lance. He was tense, angry, still, but less seething. Sweat was drying along his hairline and his hair stuck up in odd places, but he was still handsome. Beautiful, even, with his expressive eyes and strong jawline.

"I'm not sure exactly why you're angry with me," Keith admitted. "You said there's a time and a place for this sort of thing, but it's not like I _know_ that. When else am I supposed to tell you?"

"I know, I know." Lance ran a hand through his hair, averting his eyes. The strands stuck up even more. "I know you're socially awkward or whatever. But, come on, man. That was embarrassing. You could have told me in private, you know?"

"Oh. I'm—sorry." Awkward Keith, rising from the dead. "It's just—I felt like I needed to tell you."

"I felt pressured," Lance replied, still not looking at him. "Like if I rejected you I'd look like a dick in front of everyone. I didn't like being confronted like that."

Fair enough. Keith hadn't considered that. Hadn't thought at all, really. He had just... needed to let Lance know what he felt. To him, it was the right moment, when his chest had felt full and warm with emotion, fondness and happiness overruling the dread he felt. Tentatively, he reached out to rest a hand on Lance's.

Lance didn't pull away.

"I'm sorry, Lance." Keith tried to put as much sincerity into his words as possible. "I didn't think about that, and I'm sorry I put you on the spot. I just—couldn't not tell you? I saw you take down that bot and—and I realized that I love you."

"Wait, wait, wait." Lance finally turned to him, eyes wide. "You just realized it so you blurted it out? What kind of alien _are_ you?"

"Part Galra," Keith replied dryly.

"Okay, I deserved that one." Lance smiled softly, looking down at their hands.

"Lance." Keith waited until Lance was looking at him. "I didn't tell you that because I wanted you to confess your undying love for me or whatever." Lance laughed at that, ducking his head to hide his mirth. "I told you because you deserve to know. You deserve so much love, Lance. I couldn't _not_ tell you."

Lance sobered, turning his hand over to lace their fingers together. "Keith, I..."

"It's okay if you don't reciprocate. I don't know if you even like guys."

"But I might?" Lance sighed, keeping his gaze down. "Reciprocate, I mean. I don't know. I mean. I'm bi, so it's not like you being a dude freaks me out or anything. But I really like Allura, too? But..."

Yeah. She didn't like him back. Or was still hung over Lotor. Or something. Keith didn't know—didn't much care, really. All he knew was that Lance was upset about it but hadn't actually said anything to the others, as far as he could tell. He had heard Pidge and Hunk talking about it once or twice, but he hadn't pried. It was Lance's business if he wanted to talk to him about it. And if Lance still wanted to pursue Allura, Keith wasn't going to stop him.

"Lance, I'm not—I'm not going to force you to choose," Keith murmured, afraid to break whatever it was between them. "I won't be mad if you still pick her or even someone else. I just want you to be _happy_ , Lance. If that's not with me, then that's okay. I know we had our differences and it's only been a few months for you. I had two years to sort my feelings out, vacationing on a space whale while you guys were still fighting."

A laugh escaped Lance. "Yeah... I mean, I'm not gonna lie. Those two years really did good things for you."

Silence stretched between them. Keith watched Lance as he watched their hands on his lap. His fingers twitched against Keith's, but he held firm. Lance shuffled a little closer to Keith. A few breaths passed between them, then Lance laid his head on Keith's shoulder.

"I... wouldn't be opposed. To being with you."

"Lance—"

"No, listen." Lance didn't move from his shoulder. "I missed you a lot while you were gone. There was this... empty space inside me. So I thought Allura would be a good distraction. And then you came back and I was so _happy_ —" He sighed, gripping Keith's hand tighter. "But you ignored me and you said you didn't want to be stuck with me, so I've been trying to forget about my crush on you."

"I'm really sorry about that. The thing with Lotor—and then I was so stressed and—You didn't deserve that. It wasn't true," Keith admitted. "I was still confused, I guess."

"I get that, now."

They lapsed back into silence. But it was comfortable. Easy. Simple.

"So you love me. Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Huh." Lance paused, and Keith could tell he was struggling to say something.

"You don't have to love me back."

Lance sighed. "I know. I do like you, though. I wanna give this a shot. I don't know how dating is going to work up in space, though."

"We'll figure it out."

Pressing a kiss to his cheek, Lance sat back up. "I wanna be happy. But I don't know if Allura would make me happy, anyway. You... I know you want me to be happy, so, like? I dunno." Lance fumbling with his words, flushed, was rather adorable in Keith's expert opinion.

"Let's go get dinner," Keith suggested, pulling him up. "We don't have to figure everything out right this second."

"You're so mature," Lance teased as they walked to the ramp. Red lowered her head and let them out with a gentle purr. "Much more level headed."

Keith shrugged. "I didn't have much else to do."

They walked in silence, hand in hand, to the canteen. The others from training were there, all crammed into one table. They were staring at them, eyes wide, as they walked in. Allura looked lost, brows drawn tight in confusion as she watched them. In line they finally let go to get their dinner. At the table, the others had not so subtly rearranged themselves so Keith and Lance could sit together. Keith gave them an appreciative smile. Griffin looked like he had chewed on a lemon.

"This is unprofessional," he said, glaring between them. "You shouldn't be fraternizing."

Keith blinked at him, placing a hand on Lance's thigh to stop him from speaking. The table fell silent around them. "Since when did you become our commander?" he asked with as much innocence as he could muster.

"I—I'm not, but I've been at the Garrison longer and—"

"I lead the single most powerful weapon in the universe," Keith said, staring Griffin down. He didn't like bragging, but he hated morons even more. "You're just an MFE pilot." He bared his teeth in a mock grin, canines enlarged and eyes sharpening. From Griffin's cowering, he suspected his eyes had turned yellow again.

Good.

"What we do is of no concern to you," Keith added, sitting back peacefully. "We are not under the Garrison's orders. Speak negatively again about it and I will not hesitate to put you in your place."

Lance squirmed beside him. "I love it when you get all bossy like that."

"Love you, too," Keith replied, hiding his smirk by kissing Lance's cheek.

And, well, if he had said it just to piss of Griffin even more—

Well, no one had to know.


End file.
